April 2013

June 2010

June 29, 2010

We watched 2 matches at Soccer City in Johannesburg last week and it was pretty awesome. Planned to come back to PE on Friday, but was then offered tickets for Germany vs England in Bloemfontein (Which is essentially on the way home) and couldn’t resist watching one of the oldest rivalries in football and in general! We struggled to get accommodation, but in the end ended up at an awesome guesthouse, Zanchieta Wild Cat Farm (http://www.wildcatfarm.co.za/). They have lions, cheetahs, karakals, great accommodation and awesome friendly service. We arrived a short while before their shuttle was leaving for the stadium and were given a tour of their animals including meeting Elsa, a lioness who had been reared by Mickey who works at the guest lodge. She had back problems and required multiple operations to even survive which Mickey had to find donations for (literally begging on the street) and now she is almost fully rehabilitated and so tame and loving that we were able to play with her (All 120kgs+ of her!).

After that we left for the stadium and in all honesty I was a bit underwhelmed after seeing both the PE and JHB stadiums. It’s still a good stadium, but the others put it to shame. There was a lot more English support as expected, but there were people flying the German flag dotted around. The first half alone lived up to all the hype and being able to see the likes of Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney and even Beckham, albeit on the bench, was a real honour. The Germans played well and deserved the win, but something has to be done about TV based verification of close call decisions as realistically the English (not even taking into account the times they hit the bar) could have brought themselves back to 2-2 within a few minutes and that would have changed the game completely.

After the game we were picked up just outside the stadium and were back at the guest house not even 20 minutes later which was awesome once more. This was followed by drinks around a raging fire, braai with some of the best steak I have had in some time and hitting the sack early before driving back to PE.

June 25, 2010

Our second game up in Johannesburg was Germany vs Ghana. For those that don’t know, I have been a German supporter since I was a kid, initially the West Germany team and then the teams that followed included Matthaus, Sammer, Bierhof, Khan and the awesome Klinsmann. Days, weeks, perhaps even months of playing FIFA further solidified my obsession. Agreed they haven’t lived up to their previous greatness of late, but they are certainly starting to show a great deal of strength again including a solid showing in the last World Cup which was obviously on home soil.

This game was poised to be a cracker, with both teams needing a win to be 100% sure of going through. Both sides had great chances and Ghana really played well again some dicey defence at times. In all honesty I would say that they had the better chances, but just failed to convert (As has been the case with other African teams this tournament). In the end the single goal that separated the teams was scored in the second half and we had an awesome view from close to the corner flag. As the full time whistle was blown news of the incredible Australian victory over Serbia came through meaning that both Germany and Ghana would go through, making Ghana the only African country to make it through to the second round.

June 24, 2010

We came up to Johannesburg last weekend for some meetings and of course World Cup Games. I had some tickets and so did a friend we were staying with (Thanks Steve) and one of the games was Brazil vs Ivory Coast at Soccer City. After seeing the Ivorians in PE I was pretty excited and positive about their chances and although they had some opportunities early on, Brazil’s class and clinical finishing shone through.

It was however an awesome game to watch, great atmosphere and Soccer City is without a doubt one of the more impressive, modern man made things I have seen in a while. It was also my first trip on a train in South Africa in years, maybe even ever and it is definitely the way to go for the Soccer City/Ellis Park Games. Park at Park Station, 15/20 minute train ride right into the stadium basically. What a pleasure. Great organisation.

June 15, 2010

Left work a little earlier today to catch this much hyped clash of "Drogba vs Ronaldo". We were lucky to get parking just on Main Street/Govan Mbeki really close to the stadium considering that we only left the office around 14:00 and the game started at 16:00.

From the colour of the clothes and flags, there definitely seemed to be a lot more Portugal support and the stadium erupted when Christiano Ronaldo ran out onto the pitch. I don’t agree with his man of the match award (I suppose someone had to get it), but his turn and shoot early in the game that rattled the bar was quite awesome to see. Both sides had some good chances, but Ivory Coast definitely had the best of them thanks to some great attacking football and skills. The score was still 0-0 and Drogba came on with 20 minutes or so to spare with a huge welcome from the supporters. Unfortunately even with him on the scoreline remained unchanged, but it was a hard fought and great game to watch in the group of death. Ivory Coast flew their flag high for the African countries and they are a side to keep an eye on in this tournament.

June 13, 2010

The first game of the World Cup that I had tickets for was Greece vs South Korea. With the honorary greek badge I have, there was only one side to support, but unfortunately they didn’t seem quite hungry enough and were outplayed. Was my first visit to the stadium here in PE as well though and I have to say that it is very impressive, excluding the time that the food stalls opened and their total disorganisation. After the game we all made our way back to the Hellenic hall for food, the remaining games of the day (Argentina vs Nigeria and England vs USA) and of course some breaking of plates. They really went out of their way to accommodate all the visiting supporters.

We left work early on Friday to join in the festivities at the FIFA Fan Fest at St. George’s Park, Port Elizabeth. The capacity was said to be 25 000 people and with the amount of emails from suppliers etc received to say they were clocking off early as well, combined with the cars on the road, we were worried that we actually wouldn’t get in. Luckily we got there before the rush and got decent seats with a view of the stage and the big screen.

The atmosphere was awesome and everyone really got into the vibe for the World Cup as a whole and of course Bafana Bafana who were playing their first game against Mexico. Haven’t seen such unity since the World Cup Rugby was here. We were unlucky not to clinch a 2-1 winner, but overall the 1-1 draw was probably a fair reflection of the game and an incredible start to the tournament.